Balloons Overhead

 
 
 
Several of our days during the late summer have gifted us with the unexpected surprise of hot air balloons flying low directly over our house. We must be in the path of a balloon training course or something. I'm not really sure why they're there, but it sure is fun when we see them. It makes me want to get in one. I'm imagining being inside and then just jumping out into "our" pool. Then I'm waving up and calling, "Thanks for the ride."
Wow. That's kinda weird now that I write it down. I must be in need of some excitement in my life.

First Day of School - 2010

And these are the obligatory "first day of school" photos. Maddie was NOT able to get her cast off in time for the big day. She had to wait until Friday. But she's lovin' the boot. Lauren is just as thrilled as usual.
Here's hoping for a great school year. The big girls are already anxiously talking about the school productions. We're sure to be very busy for the next nine months. Wait, we just got done being busy. Oh yeah, we're always busy.

Humanitarian Dolls

The dolls are done.
I'm going to have to start this post with a little story. It's an analogy.
When I was teaching, one of the projects we used to do was a "World's Fair" where every child picked a country to do an in-depth report on. Well, I had one student who just loved the movie and music of Evita and was almost obsessed with Argentina because of it. So naturally she chose Argentina as her project. As the days of research, note-taking, fact finding, etc. progressed she became less and less excited until, in the end, one of the parents who came to the final World's Fair report day asked her, "So, Megan, what did you learn about Argentina?" Her reply was a vehement, "I hate Argentina!"
I have to admit that I have had a few days of "hating" these dolls. And here's why.
6 years ago I found myself in a position of being a brand new stay-at-home mom; something I had never been before. Yes, I had 4 young children and ran a daycare from my home, but I felt like I really had a bit of extra time and was feeling that I wanted to continue to contribute to the world and stay productive. So, I got on the church website and looked through the humanitarian projects available. This little doll pattern just caught my eye. They looked so cute and simple. Surely I could whip out a big bunch of these in no time. The date of the print-out is 12/11/2004. Now, I'm sure I didn't start until a few weeks after that, but it started out great. I got all the pieces cut out and the initial sewing done. That was the ONLY machine sewing to be done on these cuties. Let's just say I really underestimated the length of time all the hand sewing would take. And guess what? I HATE hand sewing. So the project got put away for a few, uhh, years.
With renewed energy and after moving them to our new house, I got them out again and worked on them until I was quite sick of them again. And away they went. And we moved again.
And again I dug them out, determined to finish them up. Made some headway. Moved again.
When we moved into this house and I saw the box that held them (and a few other unfinished projects) I was determined. My New Year's resolution this year was to finish all the projects in that box. I have already put together a quilt top (I'll post it when I quilt it) and can say with a huge smile on my face, that I have finished the dolls. Do not check the website. They are no longer on there as a project. But guess what? I'm sending them anyway. I wrapped each one with a cute little silly band (are you all experiencing this craze? My house is overrun with silly bands) and am shipping them away. I figured that each doll took about 1 1/2-2 hours to complete and there are 54 of them. I did most of the work while watching movies. I haven't watched a movie since the completion yet, but it will feel strange not to be sewing during it.
Humanitarian Dolls----check
It might take me a while, but I'm a finisher. Anyone need a size 2 little girl's dress? That's the next project. Started for Lauren. Shameful, I know.

The better to SEE you with

 

It's official. I'm old. We were shopping the other day when we came across a good deal on reading glasses and Richard said, "Why don't you try them just to see if they make a difference." Well, I did because of course I wouldn't see a difference. Why in the world would I need reading glasses? I can see just fine. So I stood right where the words were just starting to get blurry, put them on, and viola. . . it made a big difference. I could see quite a bit better. So, there it is. I'm wearing glasses and using the scooter when I shop. I'm old.

Dance

 

Ellie finally had her dance recital, which they do right in the middle of summer here, which I think is strange. But she loved it and did a great job. Her ballet dance was to Once Upon a December and I have no pictures of it. Dang! Her tap dance was to New York, New York. It was adorable. Yay for Ellie!

Swim Team

 

My three youngest participated in the swim team this year. We didn't come away with any blue ribbons, but it was a great experience. Here's why:
*they all became much better swimmers
*it got us up and going routinely during the unscheduled summer
*girls got great tans
*we all met fun, new friends
*we all experienced the thrill of competition during the meets
Emma wanted to quit the first day and was sure she would never return, but after a while we decided it would be worth it to try again. Here we are at the end and if she doesn't win "Most Improved" for the season they didn't get it right. She has gained soooo much from this experience. I thought the whole thing was great. Thinking about year-round swim team.

Foot Trouble

 

Okay, here is the story of our feet.
A few months ago (early May I think) I started doing Insanity workouts with a few friends from my ward. We did it 5 days/wk at 5:30 am. It felt great. I loved it, and of course I hated it too. But I was feeling good. Then a few weeks later another group started training for a half marathon which will be in Oct. The training schedule required running 4 days/wk with a long run on Saturdays. I figured if some was good, more would be better, so I started that too. Then, another lady in our ward teaches a really good water aerobics class 2 days/wk and it's actually a pretty good work out (for water aerobics) so I decided to do that too. I was feeling great, but my legs were kinda hurting. Then they were really hurting. And then, the Chicago trip with the heels and all the walking and stuff just did me in and my left foot rebelled. It was not going to do anymore and it was letting me know in no uncertain terms. Swelling, pain, aches, limping. . .arghhh! So, I limped around for about a week and a half and it just wasn't getting any better and I just didn't know what it was, so I relented and went to the doctor. Diagnosis=Severe tendinitis. Treat it like a broken foot. Stay off it for 3 weeks, ice, elevate, etc.
Well, I tried. I stayed off it for about 5 days as much as I could when one day I was upstairs and started hearing moaning from Maddie's room. So I went in there and saw Maddie laying in the middle of her room wailing about her foot. What??????? I was totally confused. How did she hurt her foot? Could it really be that bad? Is this just overly dramatic Maddie again and she really has a cramp or something? She seemed as confused as I was and could not provide any real answers for me, but then I noticed it starting to swell up and went to get her some ice. She was still pretty dazed, but started to tell me how she fainted and then her foot hurt when she woke up.
So, away we go to the doctor to get an x-ray and there it was. . . 2 broken bones in her left foot. (That's her picture up there.) She got a splint and a cast the next day. Well, after running and carrying her around all day, my foot was not being treated very well and it really started flairing up again.
So, we have been off our feet as much as possible. My foot is finally starting to feel okay, but now I'm a little gun-shy and am wondering just what this old body is capable of. I do NOT want to go through that again.
Maddie will hopefully get a boot right before school starts. And poor Emma is feeling like she's carrying the load. Don't worry folks, I think she's going to be okay!